India becoming 'key player' in G-20: Bernanke

MUMBAI -- India is becoming an increasingly “key player” on the world stage, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday, after talks with the country's central bank chief in Mumbai.

Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, on a two-day visit to the country to forge closer ties, met Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvuri Subbarao in the commercial capital.

“We had a very constructive first meeting. We discussed policy challenges facing both the U.S. and India and global challenges,” said Bernanke, the first serving Fed chief to visit the bank.

“We also discussed monetary policy and banking regulations which are of mutual interest. India is becoming more and more a key player on the G-20 stage,” Bernanke added.

The visit is part of Washington's attempts to pursue closer diplomatic links with India as an ally in Asia, as well as boosting commercial ties and access for its companies in the huge and largely untapped South Asian market.